A Las Vegas taxicab driver continues to recover at home after a rock from a slingshot hit him in the face while he was driving passengers on the Strip, resulting in the loss of an eye.
Tilahun Teginge said he’s learning to adjust to his new life with one eye.
“It's a new experience,” he said. “I can't reach something. The water I need, I can't reach."
Depth perception is still proving to be a challenge. However, he’s not letting that stop him from persevering through the pain while continuing to chase the American Dream after immigrating from Africa in 1999.
“Originally I am from Ethiopia, but I used to live in Kenya,” he said. Teginge came here to provide a better life for his family. "It's the land of opportunity.” After a few years in the Midwest, he moved to Nevada in 2004 and has been a taxicab driver for 14 years in Las Vegas.
Teginge was hurt on October 21 while taking two passengers from Caesars Palace to Treasure Island around 11:45 p.m. He stopped at a light on Las Vegas Boulevard attempting to turn into the resort when his life changed in the blink of an eye.
"Windows down, I was talking with my customer,” he said. “I was chatting with them and suddenly something pop, pop and then hurt me a lot. It was very painful. I tried to control myself because my car was in drive, and I tried to hold my eye and my customers started to call 911. It was big-time bleeding. I've never seen blood like that."
While at the hospital, a doctor informed him they needed to perform surgery to remove his eye from the damage.
“Things different after that,” he said. “It's a tough time because if you work, you make money, you live your life. If you don't work, you get nothing.”
He’s been unable to work since that night and relies on the help of his 22-year-old daughter, Blane Cheru. When the UNLV student is not in class, she assists with applying medicine to his left eye area, preparing meals and taking him to appointments.
“My dad's a really independent man but this past month, trying to help someone who's so independent after they've been dealing with something like this is very difficult,” she said. “He's having to relearn everything. You know, sit all the way on the left side so you could actually see everything to your right. It sucks his vision is not the best in the right eye and the left was the good one. But it just is going to take a lot of adjustment."
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police allege a father and son hurt not only Teginge but used a slingshot to shoot rocks at buildings and cars on the Las Vegas Strip.
Officers arrested Enrique Duarte Hidalgo on November 16. He faces charges of battery with the use of a deadly weapon, child abuse, and several gross misdemeanors related to incidents on two nights in October and November, according to a police report.
Hildago’s son is a minor and it’s unclear if he’ll face charges.
Police reviewed surveillance video from each reported incident and noticed the same suspect vehicle in the cases. Police ran the license plate number and learned the car was registered to Duarte Hildago. Police visited Duarte Hidalgo’s home to speak with him but “upon seeing detectives’ approach, he immediately ran into the residence and locked the door,” officers said in the report.
Duarte Hildago eventually spoke with police and initially said he took his son to get tacos. However, he changed his story and admitted to using a slingshot to shoot at cars and buildings, police said.
Police said Teginge’s dash cam shows Duarte Hildago’s car driving south on Las Vegas Blvd with the driver’s window down and “the second before Teginge is observed yelling out in pain, Enrique’s vehicle is observed driving pass Teginge while he is stopped at a traffic light. As soon as Teginge yells out in pain, Enrique’s vehicle can be seen continuing southbound on Las Vegas Blvd from the interior dash camera.”
"I don't know what make him do such kind of stupid thing,” Teginge said.
Police said Duarte Hidalgo’s son stated, “he and his father drive down the Strip often and on occasions will both bring their slingshots.” The reason behind the minor shooting rocks: “because he has been dealing with emotional stress due to the separation of his parents,” according to police.
"I don't even know if they care or have any remorse,” Cheru said. “But that’s not something to focus on, because what more can you do? You know, you can't beg for time to go back because that's not going to happen.”
Instead, Teginge sets his sight on recovering and eventually going back to work, but likely not as a taxicab driver.
"I don't think so because I'll have a very big blind spot to drive,”
Cheru started a Go Fund Me to help her father with expenses and adjusting to his new life.